Posts Tagged ‘book’
Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait
When I first came across this book, I was struck by the intensity of Michael’s work. I paged through it and was awed by image after image (really, I bought the book for the articles, honest). Before I get too deep into the slathering of praise, let me introduce the author.
When I first came across this book, I was struck by the intensity of Michael’s work. I paged through it and was awed by image after image (really, I bought the book for the articles, honest). Before I get too deep into the slathering of praise, let me introduce the author.Michael Grecco is a commercial photographer specializing in editorial and celebrity portraiture. His first introduction to photography came at the age of twelve when he became enthralled at the magic behind “tart smelling liquids” transforming paper into photographs. He soon became the proud owner of his first camera to practice his “art”. Six years later, he entered Boston University and discovered how different the world of editorial photography was compared to his experiences growing up. After graduation, he went to work for the Boston Herald where his photojournalistic experiences blossomed. His artistic roots kept poking at him though. After several years of being on staff at the Herald and several photojournalism awards, he began to realize he needed to get back to what he started with … so he loaded up his truck and moved to Be-ver-ly … Hills that is. Swimmin’ pools, movie stars. Ok, ok. He actually moved to Santa Monica where he began working on his lighting and artistic style, learning from cinematographers the art of giving a scene depth and life. From there, his portraiture began to take shape and evolve into what we now see today. True to the book’s title, Michael has an innate ability to envelope the subject in a dramatic shawl, like a photographic Doctor Frankenstein, bringing the moment to life with a flash of bright, wicked light.
As Michael states, this book is a combination monograph and a course on his lighting and portrait style. While there are some technical bits (it’s definitely not a how-to or step-by-step description), the book leans more towards the philosophy of his style, creating a fair mix of both to give the reader a good understanding of just what he does and why.
The book is broken up into the following sections.
- Introduction
- A short history of his life and how he got to where he is today.
- Cameras
- A discussion of the various camera formats from 35mm to digital and some techniques to use with them such as selective focusing and motion blur.
- Illumination
- Introducing Michael’s 3 laws of light: the color of light, contrast, and softness. He pairs the discussion of light with 20 or so examples including diagrams of the lighting setups in some of his photos.
- The Medium
- A short chapter on the various mediums used for recording photographs.
- Creativity & Conceptualization
- From team collaboration to props and set locations, Michael goes over the various areas that contribute to the development of a dramatic portrait.
- The Connection
- Michael covers a few topics about establishing a connection with your subject.
- Case Studies
- Michael deconstructs some of his more interesting and “famous” photos.
- Glossary
- Griptionary
One of my favorite photos in the book is of Colin Machrie wielding a princess wand and wearing a horrendously cute pink tutu. The thing that catches my eye with each of Michael’s photos is the character of each person, recording in such a way that brings the person alive.
The other photo that slapped me awake is on page 163: State Pen Nude. It’s a woman, nude, reclining in the arms of the gas chamber chair at the New Mexico State Penitentiary. “Sinister.” That’s how Michael describes the photograph as he jumped at the chance to take it, juxtaposing the harsh reality of death with the soft and delicate beauty of life.
I think for most photogs, the chapters on Illumination and the Case Studies will provide the most benefit to understanding his style. I don’t know that you’d be able to duplicate it exactly, but you might get close over time. Ultimately, this is another book that I recommend for every photographer if only because it has many inspirational ideas within it, both technical and artistic. This, combined with the diagrams and the photographic breakdowns, definitely makes the book worth picking up and adding to your library.
The Moment it Clicks
One of my newest favorite photographers is Joe McNally. I was turned onto him while reading several different posts at the Strobist blog. Earlier this year, Joe came out with The Moment It Clicks. The book isn’t really a classic how-to or filled with explicit lighting, composition, or shooting technique. No, the book is filled with what I’ll call McNally-isms, short, pithy stories, each distilled down to one core nugget of information.
One of my newest favorite photographers is 
. The book isn’t really a classic how-to or filled with explicit lighting, composition, or shooting technique. No, the book is filled with what I’ll call McNally-isms, short, pithy stories, each distilled down to one core nugget of information.The book is split four chapters, three short sections on his equipment, and a wrap up with stories from The Bar room.
- Shoot What You Love
- Keep Your eye in the Camera
- The Logic of Light
- There’s Always Something to Bounce Light Off of
- Joe’s Lighting Tips
- Joe’s Camera Bag
- Joe’s Grip and Lighting Gear
- The Barroom: The Bar Is Open
One of the first things that stands out when you flip through this book are the photos. Joe’s experience as a photojournalist and creative bending of light gives each image it’s own unique pop. My favorite, for example, is the photo of Fiona Apple dressed up in full plate armor and standing in a New York Subway train packed with people who seem to be practicing the art of looking without looking. With each photograph, Joe briefly re-tells the story leading up to the photo. I found myself up at 3am the night I received the book because I kept telling myself, “just one more story and then I’ll go to sleep.”
The second thing that pops out at first glance is the small quip that comes with each story, as if he was turning into the Aesop of photographic fables. I can’t say any of them were over the top, but the more you get into the book, the more you start smacking yourself in the head and saying, “Damn! That’s obvious! Why didn’t I think of that?!”
A few favorite quotes from the book:
We bolt and slip her through the turnstiles — sword and all — unnoticed. Subway came right away and I started ripping film like crazy for five stops. On the train, New Yorkers, true to form, avoided eye contact. The Fiona Apple photo, page 40.
There’s nothing as sweet and simple as human interaction. It trumps everything. Dr. Oz, page 36.
Sometimes, when you’ve got a camera in your hands you can convince yourself you’re Spider-man. Cheerleaders, page 60.
Is the only good light available light? Yes. By that, I mean, any &*%%@$ light that’s available. W. Eugene Smith, page 88.
Joe’s Lighting Tips is much shorter than the other chapters and that’s a good thing. Joe describes eleven different things you should probably be paying attention to whenever you’re shooting. Everything from “Always start with one light” to “Remember, as an assignment photographer, that one ‘aw shit’ wipes out three ‘attaboys’.” I can’t say I remember each of these things everytime I shoot, but I go back and refresh my memory every few weeks just to try and make it stick.
I am envious of Joe’s Camera Bag and his grip and lighting gear. Enough said.
Finally, at the end of a tough day when Joe’s done shooting he doesn’t forget that “The Bar is Open.” In the final chapter of the book, Joe cuts loose a bit and talks about some of the experiences he’s had, both good and bad, sad and hilarious. Being a father, the stories he relates about his kids really hit home for me.
Overall, this book is pretty fascinating. I’ve read it four times since I picked it up in February and each time I’m drawn to something different, whether it’s a close look at one of his stunning photos or if it’s a nugget of information that I hadn’t picked up on previously. If you haven’t seen the book, I highly recommend it. Just remember, it’s not a book on techniques. It’s just Joe giving advice that has helped him throughout his career.
Minimalist Lighting
Kirk Tuck’s book, Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Location Photography
Lighting the Nude
One of the styles of photography that I eventually want to get into is artistic nudes. No, not that skanky Hustler look or that overly lit Playboy style. Something moody, with depth and creativity. This is sort of a lead up into my big goal of doing edgy and risqué stuff … fetish photography and the like.
I’ve been taking baby steps leading up to this. Mostly it’s been learning to light and better understand the light. Then it was beginning to deal with models and getting comfortable with them AND working with the equipment at the same time. I’m still getting used to that. It’s somewhat disconcerting: like juggling flaming pitch, a porcupine, and a running sawzall. Your hands are going everywhere, you’re moving this way and that, you’re jumping forward to adjust something, you’re falling back to do something else. Lots of things to pay attention to.
Well, the next step in this for me is to learn more about the lighting nudes (in general). So, with that idea in mind, I was browsing the bookstore and came across two books on nude photography. The first one didn’t impress me much. I don’t even remember the name at this point. But, the second one, Lighting the Nude, caught my eye. It’s filled with resulting pictures, the lighting diagrams behind the images, and a description of how the shot was taken. This stuff is right up my alley. I can pick apart many photos now, so it’s interesting to see how some of these photos are built up.
The book is 448 pages, and is a collection of about 200 different images from various top photographers. Each chapter covers a different aspect of this style of photography, from props and posing to romantic and fetish. Each photo contains a breakdown of the lighting, positions of modifiers in reference to the model, the camera exposure and film type, as well as a short but concise write up by the photographer. Another thing it has going for it is that every photo I’ve seen in the book is done in a very tasteful way and I’ve gotten quite a few ideas for photographs I’d like to create.
The book is 448 pages, and is a collection of about 200 different images from various top photographers. Each chapter covers a different aspect of this style of photography, from props and posing to romantic and fetish. Each photo contains a breakdown of the lighting, positions of modifiers in reference to the model, the camera exposure and film type, as well as a short but concise write up by the photographer. Another thing it has going for it is that every photo I’ve seen in the book is done in a very tasteful way and I’ve gotten quite a few ideas for photographs I’d like to create.Overall, very well done and recommended (if you can find a copy).